Reversal of Fortune
by Riki1920
Summary: The agents are in a race against time to save a little girl's life. This is a story I wrote a couple of years ago, and I just found it again while I was searching through some old files. I decided to revamp the story a little bit and repost it.
1. Chapter 1

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 1

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

After a long day at the office, Jess pulled her Jeep Liberty into her parking space. Her thoughts were mostly of the case they'd just solved. A happy ending came out of it all, but now she was tired and wanted to sleep. When she reached her apartment, there was a small note attached to her door.

Hey Babe,

I miss you. I really wanted to see you tonight, but I was called back to work on another assignment. Sorry. Always thinking about you.

Colin.

After reading the note, Jess smiled. It was an unexpected surprise because she thought he was still undercover on a previous assignment. She wished that Colin was there to help her relax as she walked into her apartment whispering a quick prayer for his safety.

Nicole walked into her apartment feeling spent. She was tired, but her thoughts were of Antonio. She didn't really know how things between them got the way they were. Nicole loved Antonio, and she knew he loved her, but things were complicated. She knew things would never be the same, and she wondered if they would ever be able to make the whole "being friends" situation work. For a brief moment, she let her mind wander to their recently solved case. She smiled with satisfaction knowing that they saved a woman's life and returned her to her family. With her mind roaming, Nicole prepared to turn in for the night.

The next morning, Jess arrived at work 30 minutes early. As soon as she stepped off the elevator, she was greeted by Nicole.

"Hey, Jess."

"Hey, Nick. How was your night?"

"It was okay. Yours?"

"Same here. Colin left me a note on my door last night. He's on another undercover assignment."

"Wow, he's on another assignment. How long was he on the last one?"

"About three weeks."

As Jess and Nicole were talking, the elevator doors opened and Antonio stepped off.

"Hey, Jess."

"Hey, Antonio."

"Hey, Nick." Antonio said turning towards Nicole.

"Antonio." Nicole returned while looking at Antonio with her mind full of thoughts.

"I hope pleasantries are over with because 'mes enfants' it's time to do what we do best." Pollack stated as he walked past them into the bullpen. Jess and Nicole glanced at each other as they all followed Pollack to learn about the next assignment.

"Okay people. We have a missing girl." Pollack began as an agent handed Jess, Nicole, and Antonio some files about their new case. "Katie Shields, age 10, went missing from her grandparents' home in Philadelphia around 10 o'clock last night. She was staying with her grandparents, Tom and Katherine Shields, while her parents, Matt and Madison, were on business trips. Matt Shields is a computer engineer working for Gondine Enterprises, and is currently on business in Los Angeles. Gondine Enterprises is a nationwide computer engineering firm based in Philadelphia. Madison Shields is a self-employed architect on business in Chicago." Pollack gave the agents a few moments to absorb the information before continuing. "Thelma and Louise, go to the scene and interview the grandparents. You, Cortez, will get me a copy of the phone records and anything else that can be useful before heading over to the scene. Go." Without saying a word, the agents began to leave when Pollack spoke again, "I don't have to tell you guys that 24 hours is our window of opportunity to find this little girl. Move quickly." After that, the team went to work.

Jess and Nicole arrived at the grandparents' residence surveying the scene. Jess saw an elderly couple talking with a police officer.

"There are the grandparents." Jess said nudging Nicole.

"Well, let's go talk to them."

Nicole and Jess walked over to the couple.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shields?" Nicole questioningly stated before pausing a moment as Katie's grandparents nodded in confirmation. "Hi, I'm Special Agent Nicole Scott, and this is my partner Special Agent Jess Mastriani: FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions about your granddaughter's disappearance."

"Sure." Tom answered while embracing his wife.

"Mr. Shields, when did either of you notice Katie was missing?"

"Earlier that night around 9 o'clock or so she let Fluffy, her dog, go outside. About an hour later, it was time for Fluffy to come in for the night so Katie went to call her inside. A few minutes later, Fluffy came inside, but Katie didn't. We went outside to look for her, but we couldn't find her. We asked a few of our neighbors if they knew where she went, but none of them had seen her. That's when we called the police." Tom answered as Katherine started to lightly cry on his shoulder.

"Did you notice anybody around your property or did you see anything out of the ordinary?" Nicole asked.

"No, we didn't. We're so worried about her." Tom answered. "Her parents are on business trips this week, and we were watching her. They often leave her in our care because they travel so much." Tom paused before adding, "We just want our Katie back."

"Mr. and Mrs. Shields, we're going to find Katie." Nicole said with confidence.

"Is there anyone you know that would want to hurt Katie?" Jess asked.

"No."

"What about her parents? Do they have any enemies?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. They travel so much, and they interact with many different people everyday because of their jobs. I'm not really sure." Katherine answered.

"Okay, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Shields, does Katie have a room here?" Jess asked.

"Yes, of course. We'll take you to it." Tom said.

Jess and Nicole followed Tom and Katherine into the house. They walked up a flight of stairs and down a hallway before stopping in front of a door with 'Katie' in big pink letters on it. Tom opened the door and walked inside.

"This is her room. She stays here every time her parents are away on business."

"Oh, I can't stand it." Katherine walked out of the room as she began crying again.

"Excuse us." Tom said as he followed Katherine out of the room.

"Of course." Nicole replied.

Jess looked around the room. She eyed Katie's pink bed with its pink blanket and pillows. There was a bookshelf full of books and puzzle boxes in a stack next to the bookshelf. She looked over the titles of Katie's books and all of the puzzle boxes in the stack. Jess walked over to Katie's desk and looked over the drawings. While Jess was looking around, Nicole's cell phone rang.

"Scott." Nicole said answering her phone. There was a brief moment of silence while she listened to her caller. "Thanks, Antonio." Nicole said and hung up her phone. "Antonio said the parents have just arrived at the airport, and are headed to the office." Nicole said to Jess. "I'm going to go talk to the grandparents some more."

"Okay, I'll continue to look around." Jess said to Nicole as Nicole left the room. As Jess was looking at the drawings, she was suddenly thrown into a vision:

_Katie was sitting on the floor quietly drawing. Jess walked over to her, "Katie?" There was no response. Katie just continued to color. Jess tried again. "Katie, are you alright?" When Jess reached Katie, she looked at the picture she was drawing. It was a picture of two families. In one family, the parents were wearing white and the little girl was wearing black. In the other family, the parents were wearing black and the little girl was wearing white. "Katie, where are you?" Jess asked. Katie looked up at Jess and said, "I'm not who they think I am."_

"Jess." Jess was snapped back into reality at the sound of Nicole's voice. Nicole was standing in the doorway looking at Jess. "Did you have a vision?"

"Uh, yeah. Katie was drawing a picture. Two families of parents and a little girl. The parents of one wore black and the little girl wore white. In the other, the parents wore white and the little girl wore black. Then Katie said "I'm not who they think I am."

"What do you think it means?" Nicole asked.

"I don't know, but I believe Katie was kidnapped."

"Well, let's get Antonio on it." Nicole said walking out of Katie's room.

"Yeah." Jess looked around Katie's room once more before she followed her partner out.


	2. Chapter 2

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 2

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Back at the office, Nicole, Jess, and Antonio were trying to interpret Jess' vision.

"I'm not who they think I am?" Antonio asked after Jess told him the vision.

"Yeah." Jess confirmed. "I was thinking that whoever kidnapped her mistook her for someone else."

"Could be." Antonio said. "If that's the case, who did they intend to kidnap and why?"

"First, we need to figure out who 'they' are." Nicole stated. While they were discussing the vision, Pollack walked into the bullpen.

"Scott. Mastriani. The parents have arrived. Go interview them."

"Yes, sir." Nicole replied as her and Jess left the room. They walked into the conference room where Matt and Madison Shields were waiting. "Hi. Matt and Madison Shields. I'm Special Agent Nicole Scott, and this is Special Agent Jess Mastriani. How are you?"

"I just don't understand. What happened?" Matt asked.

"We believe Katie may have been kidnapped." Nicole stated.

"Oh, my God. We heard she was just missing. Who would want to take Katie?" Madison questioned with worry and fear in her voice."

"That's exactly the question we want to ask you." Jess said. "Is there anyone you can think of with a grudge against either of you?"

"No, no one we can think of." Matt answered after a brief pause with an agreeable nod from his wife.

Nicole and Jess continued to interview Katie's parents. During the interview, Antonio walked up to the door. "Nicole."

Nicole got up from the table and walked over to Antonio. "Yes, Antonio."

"We've got a lead that may definitely point to kidnapping. One of the neighbors remembers seeing a black SUV with D.C. license plates circling the neighborhood around 9:30 pm last night. They didn't get a good look at the make and model."

"Did they get a look at the driver?"

"No, it was dark, and the windows were tinted."

"Did they get the plate numbers?"

"Not exactly. They got a partial. I'm running the number combinations now."

"Okay, thanks Antonio." Nicole walked back over to Jess and Katie's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Shields, thank you for your help. You can go home now to be with your parents. We'll contact you if we have any other questions or if we come up with anything."

Matt and Madison stood up in preparation to leave. "Find our daughter, Agent Scott." Madison requested looking directly at Nicole.

"We will." Nicole answered, and Matt and Madison headed towards the elevator. Nicole and Jess watched as Matt and Madison stepped onto the elevator.

"Can you imagine what they must be going through?" Jess asked.

"Probably the same thing any other parent would go through if their kid was missing."

"Yeah, but on some level, maybe there's some guilt because they travel so much. It seems Katie spent more time with her grandparents than her parents. I wonder how much time her parents actually spend with her."

"Well, they may not feel guilt. They probably believe they're doing what they can to give their daughter what she needs. You can tell they love her. Besides, Katie has loving grandparents who are willing to help take care of her when her parents are away.

"Yeah, you're right, Nick." Jess said.

Nicole turned towards Jess. "Okay, Jess. Antonio found a lead. A black SUV was spotted in the neighborhood last night, and a neighbor has a partial plate number. Antonio's running the partials now." Nicole filled Jess in as they walked towards Antonio's desk.

"Okay." Jess replied. "Any progress?" She asked Antonio once they reached his desk.

"Yeah. I have four black SUV's with the partials seen by the neighbor on them. SUV #1, a Ford Explorer, belonging to a Sarah Price is in a police impound here in D.C. and has been for about four weeks. SUV #2, a Toyota Highlander, belonging to a Jason Walker was totaled in a car accident three days ago and has been in a D.C. junkyard since. SUV #3, a Yukon Denali, belongs to Michael Roberts, a bar owner in downtown Philadelphia, and SUV #4, a Lincoln Navigator, belongs to Gondine Enterprises."

"Gondine Enterprises? Isn't that the company Matt Shields works for?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, it is."

"You think it's a coincidence?" Jess asked.

"Unlikely." Nicole replied. "But let's go interview Roberts. Antonio, find out who had the Gondine Lincoln Navigator."

Antonio nodded as Jess and Nicole left the office.

"Michael Roberts?" Jess asked as her and Nicole walked into the Shady Tavern bar.

"That's me." A tall, blond man answered as he turned to face the agents.

"FBI. I'm Agent Mastriani, and this is Agent Scott. Is that your black SUV parked outside?"

"Yeah, I'm not parked illegally or anything."

"No, it's not about anything like that." Jess replied.

"Where were you at 10:00 pm last night?" Nicole asked.

"I was here at my bar."

"You have any witnesses?"

"How about the entire bar. I was up on stage MCing. It was karaoke night. What is this about?"

"Last night, a little girl was kidnapped. We have eyewitnesses describing your SUV and license plates driving through the neighborhood she was taken from around the time of the kidnapping." Nicole replied.

"Well, it wasn't me. There are plenty of black SUVs in this town. Like I said, I was here last night."

"Mr. Roberts, do you know a Matt or Madison Shields?"

"No, never heard of them. Why?"

"Do you know any of the people in this picture?" Nicole asked showing Roberts a picture of the Shields family.

"No, never seen any of them before." Roberts responded after glancing at the picture.

After spending a few more moments talking to Roberts, Jess and Nicole felt they had enough information for the moment. "Okay, Mr. Roberts. Thank you for your cooperation. We'll keep in touch." Jess said, as her and Nicole left the bar.

As Nicole and Jess were getting into Nicole's car, her cell phone rang. "Scott."

"Nicole, it's Antonio."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Well, it seems an employee by the name of James Druis was temporarily assigned the Lincoln Navigator a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be returned to the company last week, but there's no record of Druis returning the car back to the company lot."

"Thanks, Antonio. Jess and I will head over to Gondine Enterprises to interview James Druis. We've finished interviewing Michael Roberts. He claims to have no knowledge of the Shields family, and said that he was at his bar last night. I need you to track down any patrons from last night to verify his alibi." Nicole replied.

"You got it. I'll let you know what I come up with." Antonio said before ending the call.

As Nicole and Jess drove to Gondine Enterprises, Antonio called back letting Nicole know that Roberts' alibi checked out. He tracked down and contacted many of Shady Tavern's patrons and employees from the previous night, and the majority of them remember Michael Roberts MCing most of the night. The lead was now focused on James Druis.

A little while later, Nicole and Jess walked into Gondine Enterprises. They were directed to the office of James Druis.

"Agent Scott. Agent Mastriani." Druis said as he walked out of his office. "My secretary notified me of your visit. How can I help you?"

"We'd like to ask you a few questions about a kidnapping." Jess said.

"Right this way." Druis said as he ushered Nicole and Jess into his office.

"Mr. Druis, where were you last night at 10:00?"

"I was here at the office. I was working late."

"Is there anyone who can verify this?"

"Yeah, around that time I was on the telephone with a colleague, Shane Wilson."

"Does Mr. Wilson work here at Gondine?"

"No, he works for one of Gondine's business associates. We're working on a business deal."

"Mr. Druis, a few weeks ago, you were temporarily assigned a company car; a black Lincoln Navigator." Nicole asked.

"Yes, I was. I was in a little accident in my personal vehicle, so I borrowed a company car until mine was repaired last week."

"When did you return the Navigator? There's no record of you returning it to the company."

"Well, I returned it last weekend when things were a little hectic so the paperwork must have gotten lost. I'm sure the paperwork will turn up in the next couple of days when things settle down. As I said, the company is in the middle of a huge business deal."

"Right." Nicole responded with little belief. "Mr. Druis, what's your relationship like with Matt Shields? You work with him, don't you?"

"Matt? Yeah, I work with him. He's a great guy. He's a very intelligent man, and he's good at what he does. He's the company's travel engineer. He travels a whole lot more than I do. Why are you asking me about him?"

"His daughter, Katie, was kidnapped." Jess replied.

"Oh, I didn't know." Druis stated.

"Do you know of anyone that might have a grudge against Mr. Shields or his family?"

"No. No one. He's a very generous person. Everyone who knows him likes him."

They continued to interview Druis a little while longer. After gaining a little more information from him, they felt it was sufficient for the moment.

"Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Druis." Nicole said as she stood up and shook Druis' hand.

"Please let me know if there's anything that I can do to help." Druis said as he shook Jess' hand.

"Thank you." Jess said. Both Jess and Nicole turned to leave to return to the office.


	3. Chapter 3

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 3

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Back at the office, as soon as Jess and Nicole stepped off the elevator, they were face to face with Pollack.

"Are we making any progress, agents?" Pollack asked.

"No, sir." Nicole answered. "We're still following some leads."

"The clock is still ticking, agents." Pollack replied. While Pollack was being Pollack inquiring about what they knew and didn't know about the case, something caught Jess' eye:

_Jess saw Katie playing with another little girl. Both girls looked very similar. Katie was dressed in white, and the other little girl was dressed in black. "Katie, where are you?" Jess asked. "I don't know." Katie replied as she continued to play with the girl in black. Jess started to walk towards Katie when, out of nowhere, a black camouflaged hawk swooped down and grabbed Katie. Jess tried to catch her, but the hawk suddenly disappeared. Jess looked at the other little girl. "What's your name?" "Katie." The little girl replied as she faded away._

Just as suddenly as the vision came, it left. Noticing Jess' hesitation, Nicole asked, "Jess, are you okay?" Realizing what happened, Nicole continued. "What'd you see?"

"Yes, vision girl. Enlighten us with your cryptic message." Pollack added.

"Well, I saw Katie playing with another little girl. She was wearing white and the other little girl was wearing black. Then, a hawk grabbed Katie and disappeared. After that the other little girl disappeared."

"A hawk?" Nicole questioned.

"Yeah. It looked really weird, too. It wasn't a solid color. It was different colors: white, gray, and black. It looked like black camouflage. You know, like military camouflage." Jess answered.

"Really." Nicole said thinking. "What about the other little girl?"

"She just disappeared, Nick. She resembled Katie Shields, and she said her name was Katie right before she disappeared. I'm thinking that whoever kidnapped Katie Shields took her by accident. My first vision seemed to be hinting towards the same thing." Jess looked toward Pollack who wasn't saying anything. He just held his usual facial expression.

Pollack stood watching two of his best agents at work trying to decipher Jess' visions. For the time being, he felt there was nothing to say.

"I'm thinking the same thing, Jess. The question would be now, if they did mistake her for some else, who were they after? We still don't know who kidnapped her. Maybe Antonio can shed some light."

Jess, Nicole, and Pollack headed towards Antonio's desk.

"Cortez, tell me that you have anything remotely interesting from the world of forensics." Pollack stated as soon as they reached him.

"Not exactly, sir. There is no real evidence left at the scene. Whoever took her knew what they were doing. They took her without anyone noticing."

"You don't really have to be an expert to snatch a 10 year old." Nicole stated.

"That doesn't sound very promising, agent." Pollack stated. "Is that all you have?"

"For now, sir."

"Well, luckily for Katie Shields, Mastriani's visions are still working. Maybe they can produce something more useful. Now agents, put your intelligent minds together and decode these visions so we can find Katie Shields." Pollack turned to walk out of the room.

"Wow." Jess said as Pollack left. "Does he seem different to you guys?"

"A little." Nicole replied. "But he's Pollack."

"Yeah. Hey, Antonio, James Druis said he was at his office last night on a telephone call at the time of the kidnapping."

"Say no more, Jess." Antonio said quickly. "I'll have a copy of the phone records for you in a few."

"Thanks, Antonio." Jess said as her and Nicole left him to himself and walked back to their desks. "This is a crazy case, Nick."

"Yeah, but it's a crazy world." Nicole informed.

Jess nodded in agreement. "Okay, well, if our thinking is correct, Katie Shields was taken by accident."

"I agree." Nicole replied. "I wonder if there is anyone else connected to this case." Nicole got up from her desk and walked to Jess'. "Let's search and see if any one of the neighbors has a little girl named Katie. Maybe the kidnappers had the wrong address. It's a stretch, but I've seen crazier things happen."

"Okay." Jess said and went to work on her computer searching through files and lists looking for any connection at all. "No. No one." Jess answered after searching for a few moments.

"What about someone at Gondine Enterprises. I mean, it can't be such a coincidence that Shields and Druis work there."

Jess began her search once again. After a few moments, she had an answer. "We have a match, Nicole." Jess said. "Beside Matt Shields, the Chief Engineer, Matthew Sheen, has a ten year old daughter named Katie."

"Now that's just weird. The resemblance in the names just makes everything seem kind of freaky." Nicole stated.

Jess pulled up some photos and noticed that she recognized the little girl. "Nick, that's the other little girl in my vision."

"Jess, are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"So, whoever took Katie Shields may have actually intended to kidnap Katie Sheen." Nicole stated with a hint of questioning in her voice. "But why?"

"Okay, Nick, I'm going to go interview Matthew Sheen. Maybe he has an idea of someone with a grudge against him."

"Okay, I'm going to talk to Antonio. Maybe he found some information already."

"Alright." Jess said to Nicole and headed to the elevator.

When Jess got off the elevator in the FBI garage, she started walking towards her Jeep. She felt a slight chill, and quickly looked around the garage. Seeing nothing, she continued towards her vehicle. When she reached the door, she unlocked it with her keys and got in. As soon as she put the keys in the ignition and started the car, she felt an arm around her throat and a gun pressed against her temple.

"Don't move. Don't even breathe." She heard the voice command as her heart began to race. "I want you to drive out of here and keep going until I tell you to stop."

She felt the man release her, but she could still feel the gun very close to her head. Jess did as she was told, and drove until they reached the outskirts of the city. As she pulled onto an empty dirt road, she heard her kidnapper speak again. "Pull over and get out."

Jess continued to follow instructions and proceeded to get out of the car. Once she was out, she quickly reached for her gun in the holster behind her, but was just as quickly placed face to face with the kidnapper's gun.

"Don't even think about it." The kidnapper said. "Throw your gun on the ground."

Jess did as she was told. The kidnapper then reached on the ground for Jess' gun. As soon as he did, Jess kicked him and knocked his gun away as he fell to the ground. She bent down to retrieve her own gun and was hit from behind. Jess fell down to the ground unconscious.

"Hey, Nick, where's Jess?" Antonio asked as Nicole walked up to his desk.

"She went to interview Matthew Sheen; Chief Engineer at Gondine Enterprises. We believe Katie Shields may have been kidnapped by accident. Matthew Sheen has a daughter Katie's age with the same name who we think was the intended target."

"Well, I checked out Druis' phone records. He was in his office at the time of the kidnapping. During the time between 9:30 and 10:30, he made several phone calls. One number showed up more than the others. A number belonging to Roland Samuels."

"What does he have to do with this case? What's the connection between Druis and Samuels?" Nicole asked.

"I'm still working on that Nick."

"Alright, Antonio." Nicole said. "But first, check to see if there's any connection between James Druis and Matthew Sheen besides their employment at Gondine."

"Okay." Antonio answered and started typing away on his computer.

Nicole left the room and headed to Pollack's office. "Sir." She said as she knocked on the door.

"Enter." She heard Pollack command. "What is it, agent?"

"We may have a lead, sir." Nicole began. "We believe that Katie Shields was abducted by mistake."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" Pollack asked with seemingly little intrigue.

"Mostly from Jess' visions. In the first, Katie said 'I'm not who they think I am.' In the second, there were two Katies that looked similar. So, we searched for anyone else with a connection to the Shields who has a daughter named Katie."

"And?"

"Well, Matthew Sheen, Chief Engineer at Gondine has a ten year old daughter named Katie. So, Jess went to interview Matthew Sheen for any potential enemy possibilities."

"What about James Druis? He also works for Gondine. As you know, Agent Scott, I don't believe in coincidences." Pollack said.

"Antonio's checking on that now, sir." After Nicole said her statement, Antonio appeared in the doorway.

"Speaking of Tall, Dark, and Handsome." Pollack stated as Antonio approached his desk. "What do you have, Cortez?"

"Well, I found a connection between Druis and Sheen. Supposedly, about a year ago, both James Druis and Matthew Sheen competed for the job of Chief Engineer at Gondine Enterprises. Druis was certain he had the job, but Sheen got it. Druis was convinced that Sheen got the job unfairly. Afterwards, Sheen started denying funding to many of Druis' projects."

"So, Druis could be our guy?" Pollack asked.

"Possibly, sir. Druis said that he returned the SUV to the company after his personal car was fixed, but there's no record of him returning it. I've pulled up video footage of Gondine's parking garage, and the SUV is seen coming in the garage around 8 o'clock every morning and leaving out of the garage around 6 o'clock every evening several times over the last few weeks. Except yesterday video shows the SUV leaving a few hours earlier around 3 o'clock in the afternoon." Antonio said.

"Any images of the driver?" Pollack asked.

"No sir, but I did a little research and found out that Druis' personal car, a Lexus, was damaged in a car accident a few weeks ago and hasn't been repaired, yet. It's still sitting at Milestone Body and Repair awaiting imported parts before its repair can be finished." Antonio answered.

"Also, sir, he wasn't very forthright about phone calls he made around the time of the kidnapping. He said he was talking to a colleague, Shane Wilson, but phone records indicate that he also made several calls to a Roland Samuels." Nicole added while Pollack just sat listening to his knowledgeable agents. "Sir, I believe it's possible that Druis could've hired Samuels to kidnap Katie, and that's who's taking the SUV out of the garage at 3 o'clock. Druis stayed back at the office to have an alibi and was keeping in contact with Samuels on the phone during the abduction." Nicole stated to Pollack.

"I triangulated Samuels' cell phone signal at the time of the kidnapping to within 25 square miles of the Shields' residence." Antonio continued.

Without further hesitation, Pollack spoke. "Cortez, go pick up Roland Samuels. Scott, find Druis and get him in here. Let's see what they have to tell us. Call Mastriani and tell her to get back here and bring the Sheens with her. If Druis did this, he already knows he has the wrong kid. There's no telling what he could to do. The clock may have already run out for Katie Shields. Get moving."

Without another word being said, Antonio and Nicole left Pollack's office to get Samuels and Druis.


	4. Chapter 4

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 4

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Jess awoke to a throbbing headache. She looked around her surroundings to see if she recognized where she was. She was sitting in a small, dark room, and was handcuffed to a chair.

"Hello." Jess called hoping for an answer. There was nothing but silence. Jess continued to survey the room. She winced at the pain coming from the blow to her neck. She could also feel traces of dried blood on her neck. She didn't really remember much. All she knew was some guy stowed away in the back of her Jeep and forced her to drive out of the city at gunpoint. She remembered that she was hit from behind when she tried to fight back. While she was accessing her situation, the door to the room opened and two men came walking in.

"Good, you're wake." The first man said.

"Who are you?" Jess asked. "What do you want?"

"Don't worry about that now. Thanks to the FBI, we figured out we grabbed the wrong kid." The first man looked at Jess and smiled. She didn't recognize him. She didn't recognize either of the men.

"So you kidnapped Katie Shields?" Jess asked.

The man said nothing. He just turned around to leave. Before walking out the door, he said, "Just sit tight, Agent Mastriani. All will be revealed in time. The fun is just beginning." The second man smiled a sadistic smile and followed the first man out of the room.

Jess sat there thinking what he meant by 'the fun was just beginning'. She had no idea where she was, who took her, or how long she'd already been gone. She did know that it had something to do with Katie Shields. Whoever took Katie, found out that she wasn't the one they were after. She thought about why they kidnapped her and wondered what their plans were. She knew that Nicole would be looking for her, though. She just didn't know if Nicole knew she was missing, yet.

At the office, Nicole had returned from retrieving Druis. He was pretty easy to find, and Nicole thought he was way too confident. The confident ones always made a mistake. Nicole picked up her cell phone to call Jess again. She'd been trying to call Jess ever since Pollack ordered her to with no success. "Come on, Jess. Pick up." Nicole whispered anxiously hoping Jess would pick up the phone. Still no answer. Nicole wondered, 'Where are you, Jess?' While Nicole tried to call Jess once again, Antonio came up beside her.

"Did you get Samuels?" Nicole questioned.

"Yeah, and Pollack's questioning him. So far he hasn't said anything useful and swears he knows nothing."

As Nicole and Antonio were talking, an agent handed Antonio a file. He quickly glanced through the contents.

"Nick, I got something. Samuels and Druis are both members of a militant organization called the Black Hawks."

"The Black Hawks?" Nicole questioned. "That would explain the hawk in Jess' vision taking Katie."

"Yeah. The Black Hawks is an organization that prides itself on 'righting the wrongs in corporate America'." Antonio said mocking a statement he read in the file. "Druis probably told the Black Hawks to kidnap Katie Sheen in order to use her as leverage against her dad."

"And they kidnapped the wrong girl." Nicole said. "Okay, I'm going to talk to Druis again." Nicole told Antonio as she started to walk off. She quickly turned back around and said, "Antonio, I still can't get ahold of Jess. Find her for me."

"Okay, Nick." Antonio said and walked off. Nicole turned and walked towards the interrogation room.

"Alright, Druis." Nicole said with authority as she entered the interrogation room. "We know everything. We know about the Navigator. We know about Roland Samuels and the Black Hawks. We know about your past with Matthew Sheen, and we know that you ordered the Black Hawks to kidnap his daughter, Katie." Nicole paused as she watched Druis for a moment. His facial expression never changed. He just sat there looking at her like he knew something she didn't. "Well, Druis, your guys made a mistake. Katie Sheen is still with her parents. The Black Hawks kidnapped the wrong girl. So now my question is to you, where is Katie Shields?"

"Who?" Druis answered smugly.

"The little girl that was taken from her grandparents' home in the middle of the night." Nicole stated getting obviously annoyed at Druis demeanor. "Now, I'm gonna ask you again. Where is Katie Shield? Where are you and the Black Hawks keeping her?"

Druis looked up at Nicole and sat back in his chair. He folded his arms together and smiled a smile that made Nicole want to beat him down. "I think the question should be 'Where is Agent Mastriani?'"

Nicole looked at Druis and wondered what he was talking about. "Druis…" Nicole began before being cut off by Druis.

"Where is your partner? Agent Mastriani." Druis asked mockingly. "I was growing quite fond of her. I can't imagine why she wouldn't be here right now."

"What are you talking about?" Nicole asked very annoyed now. Druis was playing with her. He felt that he was smarter than her, and Nicole wanted to slap the smug smile off his face. Before she said anything else, Antonio opened the door.

"Agent Scott, can I speak with you?"

"Sure, Agent Cortez." She answered then turned back to Druis. "Just sit tight Druis. This is far from over." Nicole said to him with obvious discontent and annoyance in her voice. She walked out the room to speak with Antonio. "Antonio, what is it?"

"I just got a call from D.C. Police." Antonio started as if he didn't really know what say or how to say it. "They found an abandoned SUV a few miles outside of the city."

"Is it the SUV from the neighborhood of the kidnapping?" Nicole asked.

"No." Antonio answered. "It's Jess'."


	5. Chapter 5

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 5

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Nicole didn't really know what to say. She just looked at Antonio for a moment. What Antonio told her didn't seem to truly register with her. "What?"

"The SUV D.C. Police found was a silver Jeep Liberty."

"How do they know it's Jess'?"

"They ran the plates, Nick." Antonio told her.

Nicole couldn't think. Jess was in trouble. She looked through the window of the interrogation room and looked at Druis. 'So that's what he was talking about?' she thought as many more started flooding into her mind. She wondered if Jess was okay, if she was hurt, or worse. She didn't know how long she had been just standing there when Antonio called her name.

"Nicole." Antonio called. He could see the obvious worry on her face.

"Yeah." She answered.

"I'm headed over to the scene now."

"Okay. Go, Antonio."

Antonio turned to walk away when Nicole asked, "Does Pollack know?"

"Yeah." Antonio said and walked out the door. Right after he left, Pollack walked in.

"Did you get anything from Druis?"

"Sir, I think Druis may have taken Jess."

Pollack fully turned towards Nicole and looked at her. "Why?"

"While I was interviewing him about Katie Shields, he kept asking me about Jess and where she was. I think he may have had the Black Hawks take her."

"Okay, Agent Scott. Go try to call Mastriani again. I'm going to talk to Druis."

"No, sir. I want to do it."

"Do as I say, agent." Pollack turned to walk into the interrogation room, but Nicole beat him to it.

"Where is she?" Nicole asked with much anger in her voice. She was completely pissed off now. At the same time, she was scared. She didn't know what Druis or the Black Hawks were capable of. She didn't know whether or not Katie Shields or Jess were alive.

"I don't know where Katie Shields is." Druis answered in his usual smug way.

"I'm not talking about Katie Shields. I'm talking about my partner, Agent Mastriani."

Druis didn't say a word. He just looked at her with eyes that were laughing hysterically. Nicole couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed hold of the back of Druis' chair and pushed it down. While Druis was lying on the floor, she grabbed his shirt and jacked him up a bit before leaning down real close to him.

"Agent." She heard Pollack say, but didn't really care. Druis' attitude pissed her off.

"Don't screw with me, Druis. I know you got Katie Shields, and I know you got my partner. If anything happens to either one of them, I will personally put a bullet through your brain."

"Agent Scott, that's enough." She heard Pollack command. She looked back at Pollack and noticed his stern expression. He looked at her as if to say 'I got this, Nicole'. She turned back towards Druis and noticed that same smug look on his face. With a final shove, she released him and headed out the door.

"This is only the beginning, Agent Scott. You haven't seen anything, yet." Druis said with a smile on his face.

Nicole walked past Pollack and out of the interrogation room. She looked through the window and watched Pollack interview Druis for a while. After a minute or two, she decided to head to the scene where Jess' car was found. She still held onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't Jess that was missing. Hoping for a moment that Druis was right, and he didn't have Jess. Nicole walked over to her desk, grabbed her cell phone and car keys, and headed to her car.

About a half an hour later, Nicole arrived at the scene. As soon as she saw the Jeep, she knew it was Jess'. She surveyed the scene looking for Antonio. When she spotted him, she walked over to him.

"Anything, Antonio?"

"Well, we found her personal belongings in the car. Her cell phone, her badge, her gun." Antonio said. "Um, we also found a few drops of blood on the ground next to the driver's side."

Once Antonio said that, Nicole's heart raced. "Blood. Who's blood?"

"I don't know, yet." Antonio said with regret. He wished he did know. Was it the kidnapper's blood or Jess'? He prayed it wasn't the latter.

Nicole walked away from Antonio and went over to Jess' Jeep. She looked over the entire scene from top to bottom hoping to see something that would help. After a few moments, Antonio walked up to her.

"I'm done here, Nicole. I'm headed back to the office."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Nicole said as Antonio walked to his car. She took one more look at the scene, and said a silent prayer for Jess. Her partner and friend. 'Please be okay, Jess.' She thought as she headed towards her car and back to the office.

When she got off the elevators at the office, she went straight to Antonio's office. "Did you find out who's blood it is?"

"No, Nick. Not yet." Antonio said. He looked up at Nicole and could tell that she was worried. As usual, she was trying to hide her feelings and keep them at bay. He could understand why she was worried, though. He was a little worried about Jess, too. Antonio just kept hoping that they would find Katie Shields and Jess before it was too late.

While Antonio and Nicole were looking over all the evidence gathered from the scene, and the other information they had on Druis and the Black Hawks, Pollack came into the room.

"Scott, Cortez. Come here now." Pollack boomed.

Nicole looked at Pollack and could tell that something wasn't right. Her and Antonio followed Pollack into the bullpen.

"We just received this video from unknown persons but assumed to be the Black Hawks." Pollack said and played the video.

A man in a ski mask appeared and said, "How are you, agents of the FBI? We know that you have James Druis in custody. We request the immediate release of him within two hours or things could get really ugly." With that remark, the video flashed an image of Katie Shields tied up in a small room. In the next second, there appeared an image of Jess handcuffed to a chair. Both were seemingly unconscious. After that, the video ended.

"Oh, my God." Nicole said. "They do have Katie and Jess."

"What are we going to do?" Antonio asked.

Pollack was very quiet for a moment. He was trying to think of what to do. He couldn't just release Druis. Druis organized the kidnappings of a little girl and Agent Mastriani. Pollack also didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't comply. No doubt the Black Hawks would probably kill them both. After a few more moments of silence, Pollack spoke. "Let Druis go."

"What?" Antonio asked with slight surprise while hoping for a plausible reason.

"Let Druis go." Pollack looked at the agents realizing what they probably were thinking. "Get an agent to follow him to see where he goes. Hopefully, he'll lead us right to where the Black Hawks are keeping Jess and Katie."

"I'll tail him, sir." Nicole spoke quickly.

Pollack eyed her for a moment before responding. "No, Agent Scott. He knows your face."

"But, sir…" Nicole started before Pollack cut her off in a slightly more commanding tone.

"No, Agent Scott. You are to stay here and help Antonio search for other leads. Understood?"

Nicole didn't immediately answer.

"Understood, Agent Scott?" Pollack repeated.

"Loud and clear, sir." Nicole answered trying to keep her cool.

"Cortez, release Druis." Pollack ordered while continuing to stare down Nicole silently daring her to challenge him.

"Yes, sir." Antonio said while closely watching the encounter before walking off.

After Antonio left, Pollack took one last look at Nicole before walking to his office. He could tell that she was worried and pissed. He could understand; he was too. He believed that Jess could take care of herself, but he had no idea what condition she was in. When he walked in his office, he slammed the door shut. He needed to think.

Nicole never really noticed when Antonio left. She just stood there until she heard the sound of Pollack's office door slamming shut. Then, she realized that she needed to do something. She had to do something. She had to save Jess. She had to save Katie, too. But, first, she had a phone call to make.


	6. Chapter 6

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 6

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Nicole walked over to her desk, and picked up her phone. She dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello. Mike Jackson"

"Hey, Colin. It's Nicole. Can you talk?"

"Hey, just a sec." There was a few seconds of silence before Nicole heard Colin speak again. "What's up?"

"Colin, it's Jess. She's been kidnapped."

"What? When? By who?" Colin questioned hurriedly, not giving Nicole any time to answer.

"Woah, Colin. Can you get to the FBI office? I'll explain everything once you get here."

"Okay, Nicole. I'm on my way." Colin said and hung up the phone.

'Wow' Nicole thought. It seemed that Colin was genuinely worried about Jess. They were obviously very close, and it looked like he cared for her deeply. Nicole walked to the bullpen where Pollack and Antonio were. "I called Colin. He's on his way to help us search for Jess and Katie."

"Good." Pollack stated.

"How are we going to find them?" Nicole asked. She was getting a little restless.

"Cortez, I need you to find everything owned by the Black Hawks, James Druis, or Roland Samuels. Dig further to find property owned by every single member of the Black Hawks if need be. Just get me that list. If we're lucky, they're holding Jess and Katie on a property they own." Pollack indirectly answered. "Scott, you can assist Agent Cortez."

"But, sir I want to be out in the field searching for the Black Hawks and Jess. I need to be out in the field searching."

"In due time, Agent Scott. Right now, we need to find where they may be holding Jess and Katie. Go help Agent Cortez."

Nicole reluctantly turned and followed Antonio. Pollack just stared in the direction Cortez and Scott went. He knew what was running through their minds. It was going through his mind too.

Nicole and Antonio were on computers searching for properties owned by the Black Hawks or any member of the organization when they heard Pollack yelling.

"You lost him." Pollack yelled. "You better have a very good reason for why you let Druis escape. He is a part of an organization that has kidnapped a ten year old girl and one of our agents."

Nicole and Antonio went to Pollack's office where they saw Pollack yelling at the agent that was assigned to follow Druis. For a moment, they got identical memories of the scene when Janey was assigned to tail Colin and lost him.

"Just get out, agent. Get out of my sight." Pollack said with frustration and anger. "Scott, Cortez, do you have that list I asked for?"

"Yes, sir." Nicole answered handing Pollack the list of properties. "Sir, there's over 100 properties owned by the Black Hawks and anyone associated with them in the northeast. There's no way we can narrow it down to one."

Pollack was about to answer Nicole when he got a phone call. He walked over to his desk and answered his phone. "Pollack. Thank you." He hung up the phone and walked out of his office. "Come with me."

Nicole and Antonio followed Pollack back into the bullpen. Just as they reached the bullpen, Colin stepped off the elevators.

"Nicole, what's going on? What happened to Jess?" Colin asked.

"Short version. Jess' car was found abandoned on the side of the road. We believe she was kidnapped by an organization called the Black Hawks whom we also believed kidnapped a ten year old girl. A little while ago, a video was sent to us from the Black Hawks showing that they have both Jess and the little girl."

"What can I do to help? I'll do anything." Colin offered.

"That's very good to hear, Agent McNeil. We can use the help. Now, we have received another video from the Black Hawks." Pollack said as he played the new video.

James Druis appeared on the screen. "Hello, agents." Druis said with a smile. "I bet you're wondering where I am right about now. Assistant Director Pollack, I know there are much better agents in the Bureau. It was so easy to shake the rookie you sent after me. He's lucky I let him live. If that's the best you've got, I can tell you you'll never find me. Or Agent Mastriani. Or what's her name now?" Druis mockingly thought aloud. "Katie Shields. But, being the generous man that I am, I'll give you a chance to find me. Or better yet, them." As Druis said that, he showed two images: one of Jess and the other of Katie. Both still tied up and unconscious. "Agent Mastriani is a feisty woman. She seems adamant about the fact that I will be captured. I'm going to miss that confidence of hers." Druis tauntingly commented. "Well, like I said, I will give you a chance to find them." For a moment, Druis stopped smiling and looked more serious than he usually did. "For the moment, Agent Mastriani and Katie Shields are located in two different places. Both are tied up and both are heavily guarded. Your deadline is midnight tonight to find them." Suddenly Druis smiled again and continued, "But here's the catch, agents. You will only be able to save one of them. If you find one, the other will die. If you can't find either of them, they're both going to die." Druis began to laugh. "How do you like my game, agents? The clock is ticking. Tick-tock, agents. Tick-tock."

The video ended with Druis smiling wickedly. The second it ended, Pollack took action. "Okay, listen up everyone. The entire situation has been changed. We only have about five hours to find Mastriani and Katie. Let's get moving, agents."

Jess awoke again for the umpteenth time. She didn't really know how long she was out again. She obviously got under their skin. They constantly made sure she was unconscious. Her head felt like a punching bag. She wondered whether Nicole knew she was missing, yet. Jess knew that the Black Hawks kidnapped her, but she didn't know why. While she was in the middle of her thoughts, Druis walked into the room.

"Hello, Agent Mastriani."

"Druis. You still have time to make it out of this alive. Just let me go and tell me where Katie Shields is."

"Ms. Mastriani, you are beginning to annoy me. I am so close to killing you right now, but that would ruin all my fun."

"What does that mean?"

"That means that I'm playing a little game with the FBI, and you and little Miss Shields are the pawns."

"What kind of game?" Jess questioned.

"Let's just say that you and little Katie only have until midnight to live."

"Well, in that case, you only have until ten to let us go and get out of the country." Jess threatened.

Druis laughed. "So you are that confident in your partner and your team that they're going to find you?" Druis asked rhetorically with little wonder. "Your confidence intrigues me, Agent Mastriani."

"Your arrogance intrigues me, Druis." Jess retorted.

"That's good." Druis said as he walked to the door and opened it. "Watch her, and don't let her out of your sight for a moment. Don't go near her. She's liable to hurt you." He told another man standing at the door and walked out of the room. After Druis' departure, Jess observed the guy who was ordered to watch her. He wasn't really paying much attention to her, but there wasn't much she could do while she was handcuffed to a chair.

"Where are you holding Katie Shields?" Jess asked.

"That's none of your business." The guard growled.

"You don't really know, do you? Druis doesn't tell you anything. You're just a lowly sidekick, and as soon as Druis gets caught, you're going to be one of the first ones he sacrifices to save his own life." Jess said tauntingly trying to piss off the guard.

"Shut up." The guard yelled as he angrily stalked toward Jess.

While he was storming towards Jess, she thought 'I can take him. If only I wasn't handcuffed to this chair.' Then, there was a knock on the door. The guard answered it and walked out. 'I got to get out of here.' Jess thought. 'I need to find Katie.'


	7. Chapter 7

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 7

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

While Jess was thinking of ways to escape, the door opened and a different guard walked in the room. For a split second, she wondered where the first guard went, but resolved that she didn't care. The newer guard looked taller than the last, but in the end it didn't really matter. She had to escape to find Katie, and she was going to. In the process of thinking of a plan, her thoughts were interrupted by a vision:

_She and Katie were handcuffed together at the wrist running through a giant building. Jess looked behind them and saw a giant black hawk chasing them. The hawk kept getting closer and closer. Landing directly in their path, a big clock with its hands showing 11:45 appeared to have fallen from the sky causing Jess and Katie to stop in their tracks. Once they did, the hawk grabbed them both and disappeared._

When the vision ended, Jess inhaled sharply. The guard looked at her with a funny expression.

"What's your problem?" he asked nastily.

"Um…nothing." Jess answered. After her vision, she knew with more certainty than before that she had to get out and find Katie. Then she got an idea. "Hey." She called to the guard. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"So what." The guard retorted.

"Look. I've been sitting here for a really long time. I'm not going to try to escape or anything. The only thing I care about right now is getting to a bathroom. Now, are you going to uncuff me so I can go to the bathroom or do you want me to cause you some serious pain?" Jess stated.

"How much pain can you cause me handcuffed to a chair?" The guard shot back.

'Okay, on to plan B.' Jess thought. "Hey, look. I know that the FBI is closing in on this location. Druis and everyone else involved are going to prison for a really long time. I'll make a deal with you." Jess paused for a moment to gauge the guard's reaction. "I really need to use the bathroom. If you uncuff me and take me to one, I'll speak on your behalf in court. I'll say you were never involved and had nothing to do with the kidnappings." Jess waited for a reaction from the guard.

He looked at her for a minute or two and started walking towards her. While he was unlocking her handcuffs, Jess thought 'This guy is really dumb.' When he took the handcuffs off, she started to calmly walk towards the door. When she got close enough to the door, she stopped and waited for the guard to get closer to her. When he was close enough, she turned around and punched him in the face. He stumbled backwards a little and reached for his gun. Before he got it out, Jess kicked him in the stomach, bent down, and tripped him up. As he tried to get up off the floor, Jess went to work punching him until he was unconscious. She took a deep breath and glanced at the door. She was hoping no one heard the struggle. She turned back towards the guard and frantically started searching him for a cell phone. She found one in his pocket and quickly dialed Nicole's number. Jess had a feeling that if she or Katie weren't found soon, something terrible was going to happen.

Nicole, Antonio, and Colin were working studiously trying to narrow down the list of properties owned by the Black Hawks. They were hoping to find some possibilities soon, but they didn't really have much to go on. They were working against the clock to find Jess and Katie. Wherever the two were, they had to go in at the same time to avoid injury to either one of them. While they were working, Pollack walked in the room.

"Druis' secretary told me there's a cottage not too far outside the city where he always went to relax. Also, there's a warehouse on the coast where many Black Hawks' meetings were secretly held."

"That doesn't really help us, sir." Nicole said. "Druis would already think about that. He wouldn't hide them in a place he's known to go."

"Wherever they are has to be two locations they don't go to very often. Locations in places that aren't really frequented by anyone." Colin added.

"Cortez, run a check on the properties for any located in run down or low populated areas." Pollack ordered.

"Yes, sir." Antonio answered as he began typing on his computer. "Okay, that surprisingly narrows down the list to about ten properties in mostly or completely abandoned neighborhoods."

"Good." Pollack said. "Now, let's narrow down that list to two. We have less than three hours. We need to move faster."

As they were searching, Nicole's cell phone rang. She quickly picked up the phone and answered. "Scott."

"Nicole, I'm so happy to hear your voice." Jess said on the other end of the line.

"Jess, where are you?" Nicole asked. She felt a little relieved to hear her partner's voice. Yet, she knew it was possible that Jess was not completely out of danger by listening to her tone of voice. Nicole motioned to Pollack, Antonio, and Colin.

"I don't know, but wherever I am. I know Katie is here, too."

Nicole hurriedly spoke to Antonio. "It's Jess. Can you trace the call?"

"Yeah." Antonio said as he sat down at his desk and used his equipment to transfer Jess' call to a telephone in the office on speakerphone. In the process, he went to work trying to trace the call. "Jess, just hang on. We're trying to trace the call." Nicole informed.

Once on speakerphone, Colin asked, "Jess, are you okay?"

"Colin, is that you?" Jess asked a little surprised. Although a little taken aback, she was happy that Colin was there helping Nicole, Antonio, and Pollack try to find her. Since she knew Colin was there, she felt even more certain that she and Katie were going to be found.

"Yeah, it's me. Nicole called me when they found out you were missing. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just a little sore."

"Are you and Katie together?"

"No, I'm in a small room by myself, but I know she's in the same building as me. I knocked out the guard and took his phone."

"How do you know she's there?" Nicole asked.

"I had a vision. Katie and I were handcuffed together running from a black hawk in a large warehouse. A giant clock reading 11:45 landed directly in front of us, and the hawk grabbed us and we disappeared."

"Mastriani, can you get out safely?" Pollack asked.

"I don't know. There are lots of guards everywhere. I don't even know where Katie's being held."

All of a sudden, everyone heard a loud noise on Jess' end of the line. They listened in and heard a brief struggle before the line went dead. Hopeful, Nicole asked Antonio, "Did you locate the call?"

"Yeah, but I didn't get an exact location. I got within a 50 mile radius on the south side of DC."

"How many Black Hawks properties are in that area?" Colin asked.

"Six. Only three of them are on the list we narrowed down earlier."

"Okay, we need to decide fast, agents. There isn't much time left." Pollack added. "Where are the three properties?"

"Madison Avenue, Michelangelo Street, and Shelby Drive."

"Is there any way to narrow it down further? We don't have time to search them all." Colin asked.

Just as he said that, Nicole thought of something. "Is the property on Michelangelo Street a warehouse?"

"Yeah." Antonio answered.

"I think that's it. I think that's where Jess and Katie are."

"Are you sure?" Pollack asked.

"No, but in Jess' last vision, they were in a warehouse. In her first vision, Katie was drawing. She loves to draw. There are many drawings on the walls in her room at her grandparent's house. So Katie's an artist, and Michelangelo is a world renown artist. It's a long shot, but I think it's the best shot we got." Nicole answered.

Pollack thought for a moment. "Okay, I need units at Madison Avenue and Shelby Drive. All other units proceed to Michelangelo Street. Get the Hostage Rescue Team out there ASAP." Pollack barked orders at agents in the office. "Alright. Scott. Cortez. McNeil. We have less than two hours to save them both. Let's go."


	8. Chapter 8

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 8

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Jess sat handcuffed to the chair again feeling a little dizzy. She hoped Antonio had enough time to trace the call. She was in the middle of the conversation when a guard came into the room and caught her. Before she had a chance to react, he hit her causing her to drop the phone. She started fighting back and was winning until a few more guards came in the room. She was heavily outnumbered, and they got the best of her. Her head was killing her, and a small steady stream of blood ran down the side of her face. Her arms, stomach, and back were sore, and she knew she had some broken ribs. She fought against the pain and the urge to pass out. She hoped Katie was okay and that help was on the way. In the middle of her thoughts, Druis walked into the room.

"Agent, you look terrible."

"So do you." Jess retorted a little weakly trying not to show it.

"I've been told that you are in such a hurry to leave. My boys had to restrain you."

"It's only a matter of time before you get caught."

"Well, you're right about one thing. It's only a matter of time before this is all over." Druis said. "Just be patient, Miss Mastriani. My boys are ready to kill you. Don't spoil my fun by making them do it. That pleasure is all mine." Druis chuckled as he turned and left the room.

Jess stared after Druis as he left the room. The thought of being killed crossed her mind, but she was mostly worried about Katie. She had a strong belief that Nicole and Colin would find her. The next time she felt the darkness starting to overshadow her, she fought it but it was no use. The pain from the bruises on her head were so great, she succumbed to the darkness.

Over an hour later, Nicole, Colin, Antonio, and Pollack pulled up to the warehouse on Michelangelo Street. Pollack ordered the other units to hold back in order to keep Druis and the Black Hawks from noticing their arrival. Everyone was suited up with bulletproof vests ready to go in. After a few minutes of waiting, Pollack began to wonder where the Hostage Rescue Team was.

"Where is the HRT?" Pollack yelled into his radio.

"ETA. 45 minutes."

"We don't have 45 minutes." Pollack looked at his watch. It was 11:30. There was no time at all to wait for the HRT. "Okay. We're going in." Pollack said to Nicole, Colin, and Antonio. "McNeil, go with Agent Scott. Cortez, you're with me. Everybody have their ears on?"

"Yeah, we're ready to go." Nicole answered.

"Okay, let's go." Pollack ordered as they all headed towards the warehouse.

Upon reaching the warehouse, Nicole and Colin went one way, and Pollack and Antonio went another way. Pollack and Antonio crept quietly through the building making sure that noise was kept to a minimum. Pollack was in the lead, and Antonio stayed close behind him. Pollack didn't know what was in store for the team as they searched through the building looking for Jess and Katie. At some point, it crossed his mind that Druis might have the building rigged with explosives. Or, God forbid, he had Jess or Katie booby trapped. He pushed that thought back out of his mind as he and Antonio continued to creep. After checking the first floor and coming across nothing, he motioned to Antonio that they were to proceed up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs, they made their way down a hallway with many doors. Both Pollack and Antonio put their ears to the doors to listen for any sounds inside hoping to come across Jess or Katie. As they turned a corner, they heard a few voices coming from one of the rooms. They slowly made their way up to a door and listened carefully to make sure it was the right room. Pollack and Antonio heard the cry of a little girl.

"Katie's in here." Pollack whispered to Antonio.

They prepared themselves to enter the room and rescue Katie. Pollack opened the door slightly to peek inside. He noticed that Katie was huddled in a corner crying. There was only one guard in the room with his back turned to the door. He seemed to be talking on a cell phone or a radio.

"Hold up a sec, man. Hey, will you shut your mouth." The guard yelled to Katie. "I'm getting tired of this little girl crying. Druis won't know if I kill this little girl early." He said to whomever he was talking to on the phone or radio.

"Okay, Cortez. I'm going to knock out the guard. Once I do, go in and grab Katie."

"Yes, sir." Antonio responded.

Pollack sneaked into the room being very careful not to alert the guard to his presence. Once he was close enough, he pistol-whipped the guard causing him to fall to the ground hard. The gun and phone in his hand both hitting the ground with almost equal force. Once the guard was down, Antonio came into the room and started untying Katie.

"Katie Shields. It's okay. We're the FBI. We're here to take you home." Antonio said to calm the girl as he picked her up. "I'm ready to go, sir."

Pollack looked over at Antonio and motioned him to follow. He peeked out the door to make sure no one was in the hallway. When it was safe to move, they walked out of the room and headed back down the hallway. They made it safely down the stairs and out of the building without encountering anyone. Once outside, Pollack and Antonio trekked a block away to where Pollack ordered the other units to remain.

"Scott. McNeil. Cortez and I have found and secured Katie Shields. She's safe, but it's only a matter of time before they find out she's missing. Have you located Agent Mastriani, yet?"

"No, sir." Nicole replied.

"We're coming back in." Pollack said.

Once Antonio placed Katie in the arms of another agent, he followed Pollack back into the warehouse.

Roland Samuels was walking down the hallway to find the guard. He was speaking to him on the phone when the line went dead. He knew the guy was pissed off at the little girl. In the least, he would just take his place to prevent him from hurting the little girl just yet. Druis would've been pissed off if anything happened to the girl before it was time. Approaching the door, he noticed it was opened and it shouldn't have been. He walked into the room and saw the guard unconscious on the floor, with the little girl nowhere to be found. He quickly reached in his pocket for his cell phone and called Druis.

"James, the little girl is gone. Jerry has been knocked out. Someone must have taken her."

"Search the building for her, Roland." Druis said on the other end of the line.

Samuels hung up the phone and tried to wake up the guard. Once he was up, they both went searching the building for anyone who may have gotten inside.

Once Druis hung up the phone with Samuels, he headed directly towards where he was holding Jess. 'I guess the FBI is smarter than I thought' Druis thought to himself. 'They got the little girl. I warned them that only one of them was getting out of here alive. They made their decision. Now, it's time to finish this.'


	9. Chapter 9

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 9

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Jess was abruptly raised from unconsciousness when Druis angrily stormed into the room. He walked over to Jess and took off the handcuffs. She was still a little woozy from her previous encounter. Yet Jess knew that something was up because of the way Druis came in the room. She forced herself to focus more on what was happening. She didn't want to be caught off guard by Druis, especially not now.

"You know, I must admit that sometimes people can surprise you. I honestly have to say that I didn't believe they would find you so fast." Druis rambled to Jess. "I figured they'd find you in a few days or rather your body, but like I said, apparently, people can surprise you."

The entire time Druis was speaking, Jess just looked at him. It was obvious he was pissed because the FBI found her and Katie with Nicole, Colin, Antonio, and Pollack leading the way.

"But it's not too late for them to find a corpse, Agent Mastriani." Druis continued. "I truly enjoyed your company." Druis said as he reached behind his back and pulled out a gun.

Jess stood up out of the chair she'd been confined to for so long happy that she was no longer handcuffed. At the same time, she figured that no matter how vindictive Druis was, he just couldn't shoot someone tied to a chair. Maybe he wanted to see if she still had any fight left in her. She stared down at his gun then looked back up at him. Jess noticed his usual face full of smugness, but now there was something different there too. She thought it could've possibly been his knowledge of impending capture, but she couldn't really tell. Glancing down at the gun again, she knew she had to act fast or he was definitely going to kill her. "Druis, killing me is only going to make your situation worse. Give up now, and things will be much easier for you."

Druis stared at Jess for a moment and smiled. "You're trying your hand at negotiating again, agent? Didn't you realize the first couple of times you tried it doesn't work?"

"I'm just trying to make sure we both leave this building alive. I know the FBI's here and, trust me, if they find me dead, you will be too."

"Oh, one of us will definitely die tonight, and it's not going to be me." Druis aimed his gun at Jess poised to fire when they both heard gunshots outside the room. Druis looked towards the door taking his attention off Jess.

When the gunshots were heard, Jess glanced at the door also. She looked back at Druis and noticed he wasn't looking at her. She knew it was the perfect opportunity and lunged toward his gun. Druis caught the sudden movement from the side of his eye and reacted just as Jess grabbed his hand. They struggled a few moments before the gun went flying across the room on the floor. Even more enraged than before, Druis swung at Jess missing her head as she ducked. Jess countered by kicking his legs from underneath him. She turned around, grabbed the chair she was handcuffed to, and hit him over the head as he tried to get up. Jess swung again while he was on the ground, dropped the chair, and headed for the door. Her entire body still ached from her earlier struggle, but she knew she couldn't let that slow her down. Before she reached it, she felt herself being pushed with extra force towards the door. She hit the door with so much force her breath was knocked out of her for a moment. Before getting time to recover, Druis grabbed her head, banged it against the wall, and threw her back towards the middle of the room. She went flying across the room landing hard. Druis rushed over to Jess kicking her in the stomach a few times. The blows causing much more pain throughout her already aching body. After a quick moment trying to deal with the pain, she slowly stood up only to be face to face with Druis and his gun.

"Miss Mastriani, you certainly have a lot of fire in you and I like that. Nevertheless, it's time to stop playing games. See you in hell, agent." Druis said as he pulled the trigger.

Jess looked at Druis and saw the flash from the barrel of the gun. The next thing she felt was the pain as the bullet rocked through her upper body. The only thing she could think about was her family, friends, and Colin.

Colin and Nicole had made their way up a flight of stairs when they heard Pollack radio in that they found Katie. They breathed a sigh of relief because they knew Katie was okay, but at the same time, they became a little more worried about Jess. If Druis knew that Katie was safe, he might be tempted to kill Jess sooner. They were already running out of time. A greater sense of urgency was put upon them. Nicole and Colin were stealthily making their way down the hallway checking rooms for any sign of Druis or Jess. Nicole was in the lead, and Colin was watching the rear. Colin couldn't help but think about Jess. He was praying that she wasn't hurt. He cared for her a lot, and he thought they were good together. He vowed to find her before Druis could hurt her. As they were looking, they heard gunshots from behind. Colin and Nicole sharply turned around and peered down the hallway with their guns drawn ready to return fire if necessary. Then, Antonio and Pollack appeared from around a corner.

"We heard gunshots." Nicole said.

"That was us." Pollack answered. "We encountered a couple of Druis' friends down the hallway. It's apparent they know Katie's gone. Any progress on Mastriani?"

"No sir, Not yet."

"Okay. Let's keep going."

This time Pollack took the lead with Nicole, Colin, and Antonio not too far behind. They progressed a little further down the hallway when they heard a gunshot. Nicole noticed the light from the quick flash of the gun under one of the doors.

"Over there." She said as she charged towards the door.

"Nicole, wait." Antonio called after her.

Colin, Pollack, and Antonio headed after her. Just as Nicole reached the door and opened it, she saw another flash and heard another gunshot.

After the first bullet went through her body, Jess felt the impact of the second bullet through her stomach without hearing the gunshot. Her body lost all of it's strength and she collapsed on the floor. She didn't even hear the door burst open and all the aftermath that ensued.

Nicole was briefly caught in a state of shock. She couldn't believe what her eyes were seeing. She saw Jess fall to the ground when the bullets hit her. A quick flashback of the last time Jess was shot quickly passed through her mind. Nicole's eyes darted from Jess to Druis as he shifted bringing the gun in her direction. Nicole reacted and fired a few rounds at Druis. She saw a few hit his body and one right through his head. As he fell to the ground, Colin, Pollack, and Antonio ran into the room. The whole encounter took less than three seconds. Nicole ran over to where Jess laid on the ground. Colin and Antonio were right behind her as Pollack went over to check Druis.

"I need an ambulance now. Agent down." Nicole yelled then looked down at Jess. "Jess, can you hear me?" Nicole asked.

"Nicole?" Jess sputtered trying to breathe and fight against the darkness. "Is Katie okay?"

"Yeah, she's safe, but we need to worry about you right now." Nicole responded.

"Jess, I'm here baby." Colin said.

"Colin." Jess said showing a faint smile. Her eyes were closing as the seconds went by. Finally, her body gave in, and her eyes closed.

"Jess, stay with us." Nicole said as she held Jess' hand. "Where are the EMTs?" Nicole yelled.

"They're on their way." Antonio said as he checked Jess' vitals. "She's got a pulse, but barely." Antonio glanced over her body looking for the wounds. "She took one in the shoulder and the abdomen. Press down, Colin." Antonio instructed Colin to press down on Jess' abdomen to try to control the bleeding. Antonio was working on her shoulder. Nicole started wiping the blood from Jess' face and neck.

Pollack walked up to the group and kneeled down alongside Jess just like everyone else. He said a silent prayer for Jess' life. He wouldn't know how to deal with losing another young agent on his watch. The entire ordeal with Janey took a lot out of him. He couldn't possibly go through the same with Jess. She was a good friend to him, and she was a very good agent.

Colin sat pressing onto Jess' stomach to keep her bleeding to a minimum. He'd seen agents shot, bleeding uncontrollably, but this was different. The entire way he looked at it was different. It was scarier. Ever since he met Jess when she tackled him in the FBI garage, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Looking into her eyes, he knew he had to get to know her better. Now, that he knew her, he cared for her very deeply. Actually, it was deeper than that. He loved her. He couldn't bear to lose her this way.

Nicole just sat there holding Jess' hand and wiping her face. She couldn't believe this was happening to Jess. She pushed the thought of Jess' death out of her head. To her, it couldn't happen. Jess was the first partner she had that accepted her for the person she was. Jess was not only her partner, but her best friend. They'd been through a lot together since they became partners less than two years ago, and she was determined that their partnership and friendship wouldn't end like this.

Antonio continued to work on Jess' shoulder. It was bleeding badly, but he was thankful it hit her where it did. A few inches lower, and that shot would've killed her. He looked over at Colin and Nicole. Both were incredibly worried about her just as he was. Jess was a wonderful person and a great friend to him. He didn't know many women that shared his love for Mopar muscle cars. He looked down at his work, then back at Nicole and Colin. He thought about what this whole ordeal must feel like for the both of them. In the end, all of them did't really understand the whole situation and why it had to happen to Jess.

While Nicole, Colin, Antonio, and Pollack were lost in their thoughts as they tended to an unconscious Jess, the EMTs finally entered the room. The group moved from Jess' side so the paramedics could do their job. When Jess was loaded onto the stretcher, they wheeled her outside into the ambulance.

"Is anyone riding with her?" One of the paramedics asked.

"I am." Nicole and Colin said at the same time. They both looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement. "We are." They said together.

The EMT nodded. "One can get in back. The other has to ride up front."

"Okay" Nicole responded and with silent agreement, she got into the back with Jess while Colin went to sit up front. As the doors closed and the ambulance took off towards the hospital, Nicole picked up Jess' hand and held on for dear life.

Antonio ran to his Durango ready to follow the ambulance. Pollack barked a few orders at the remaining FBI agents and ran to Antonio's SUV. As soon as Pollack was in, Antonio sped in the direction of the ambulance.


	10. Chapter 10

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 10

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

The ambulance arrived at the hospital within 30 minutes of leaving the warehouse. Colin and Nicole jumped out of the ambulance and followed the stretcher into the hospital. They both went with the stretcher until they reached the emergency room where they were allowed to go no further. Once the doors of the emergency room closed, Nicole and Colin hugged. They both were incredibly worried about Jess. She didn't regain consciousness at all in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. While Nicole and Colin were hugging, Antonio and Pollack rushed up next to them.

"How is she? Any news?" Pollack asked with genuine concern.

"No, sir." Nicole answered. "They just rolled her inside."

"Okay, let's just sit down and wait." Antonio chimed in. "That's all we can really do now."

Everyone walked to the waiting area and sat down in silence with their thoughts. What seemed like an eternity to everyone was really about 15 minutes when Nicole jumped up in frustration. "What's taking so long? Someone should've come out and said something to us by now."

"Nick, relax." Antonio said standing up and walking towards her. "They're just doing their jobs. I'm sure we'll know something as soon as they do."

"You're probably right, Antonio, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. I don't like feeling this helpless."

"I understand. We all feel the same way." Antonio said to reassure Nicole.

"I just hope she's alright."

"She's going to be just fine. Jess is tough. She's a fighter. She's going to make it through this." Antonio replied soothingly.

"I know." Nicole said as she hugged Antonio. She looked over at Colin who was sitting with a dazed expression on his face. "Colin, are you okay?"

"What?" Colin asked as he was snapped back to reality from his world of deep thought and reflection. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I'm just thinking." As Colin was talking, Nicole walked over and sat down beside him.

"About Jess?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, I'm just so worried about her."

"Yeah, we all are."

"It makes you think twice about the job. Especially when it hits too close to home like this." Colin said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Nicole responded letting her mind briefly wander to Janey before once again thinking of Jess.

As Nicole and Colin were talking, Pollack asked Antonio. "Has anyone called her mom and brother, yet?"

"I don't believe so, sir. I'll go do that now."

"No, Antonio. It's okay. I'll go. Just stay with Nicole and Colin, and wait for any news on Jess."

"Yes, sir." Antonio said and went to sit with Nicole and Colin while they were still deep in conversation.

Pollack walked down the hall in search of a phone. After locating one, calling the office for information on Jess' family's contact information, and having a long conversation with Jess' mom, Pollack returned to the waiting area. "Any news, yet?"

"No, sir." Antonio answered.

As soon as he finished his statement, a doctor walked out of the emergency room. They all held their breaths wondering if it was the ER doctor who attended to Jess.

"Jessica Mastriani?" The doctor put the question out to the waiting room.

"That's us." Nicole said as they all rushed over to the doctor.

"How is she?" Colin asked.

"Well, I'm Dr. Jason Miles. Agent Mastriani was in a pretty bad state when she arrived. She suffered multiple blows to the head, which resulted in a concussion. Miraculously, only a mild one. She does have a few broken ribs, also. The gunshot to the shoulder wasn't too severe. We contained the bleeding and removed the bullet. It was pretty easy to obtain, and it was in one piece." Dr. Miles paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "The gunshot wound to her abdomen did much more damage. The bullet shattered into several pieces after it impacted her body. She has some internal bleeding and she has to undergo surgery to stop the bleeding. At the same time, we'll be trying to locate the bullet fragments and retrieve those."

"When will she be going into surgery?" Nicole asked.

"They're prepping her for the operating room as we speak."

"How long will the surgery take, Dr. Miles?"

"Well, it's hard to determine that right now. It depends on exactly how many fragments the bullet broke into and where they're located in her body."

"Will you be performing the surgery?" Colin asked.

"No, Dr. Andrew Bryce will be performing the surgery. He's a specialist, and it's a delicate situation that we have to fix before it's too late."

"Dr. Miles. What do you think her chances are?"

"If she makes it through the surgery, her chances for a full recovery will be dramatically increased."

"What about making it through the surgery?"

"That depends on her." Dr. Miles answered as his pager went. He glanced at it and turned it off before continuing. "We have some consent forms and other paperwork that needs to be filled out."

"Well, her mom is on her way from Indiana as we speak. I'm her supervisor. I'll fill out the paperwork." Pollack answered.

"Great, just head over to the nurses' station, and they'll give you what you need." Dr. Miles stated as his pager went off for a second time. He looked down at it and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm needed back in the ER. Just have a seat in the waiting room. When the surgery's over, someone will be right out to update you on her situation."

"Thank you, doctor." Nicole said.

Nicole, Colin, and Antonio went back and sat down in the waiting room. Pollack went to retrieve the paperwork from the nurses' station before rejoining the others. They didn't realize that Jess' situation was as bad as it was, and they were almost heartbroken to hear the news. Deep down they believed that Jess was going to be okay, but it didn't stop them from worrying.

For the next few hours, they sat around waiting to hear news about Jess. Pollack looked at his watch and noticed that it was a little after three in the morning. "Okay, guys. I'm going to head back to my hotel so I can get some sleep before work." Pollack stood up and started walking towards the exit.

"Sir." Nicole said before he had a chance to leave.

Pollack turned around and looked at Nicole. He knew what she was going to say. "It's okay Nicole. You and Antonio have some sick time. Keep me updated on Jess." Then, Pollack turned and left the hospital.

By 7 o'clock in the morning, Nicole, Colin, and Antonio had fallen asleep and awoken several times. So far, Jess had been in surgery for about six hours. They really didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Nicole and Colin were talking, and Antonio walked into the waiting room after going to get coffee for all of them. He handed Nicole and Colin their coffee and went to sit down. As soon as he sat down drinking his coffee, a doctor walked into the waiting room.

"Anyone for Jessica Mastriani?" The doctor asked.

"We are." Colin said as they all stood up in anticipation.

"I'm Dr. Bryce, and I performed the surgery on Ms. Mastriani."

"How is she, doctor?"

"Well, the surgery took longer than expected, but we found and removed all of the bullet fragments. There were more than we originally thought there would be. We got the bleeding under control, and we got her stabilized. She's going to be just fine."

After hearing the doctor's statement, Nicole, Colin, and Antonio all breathed a sigh of relief. They couldn't help but smile knowing Jess was okay.

"Can we see her? Where is she?" Colin asked.

"She's in recovery right now, and she's resting. You all can see her now, but only for a little while. She needs all the rest she can get. Right this way." Dr. Bryce led them all down the hallway to the recovery room. They could see Jess through the window. Colin, Nicole, and Antonio walked silently into the room.

Colin sat by Jess, picked up her hand, and kissed it. He looked at the way she was lying in the bed and was saddened. He was angry that she had to go through what she'd been through. He wished it would've happened to him instead of her. He wanted to take the pain away from her. Colin sat by Jess' side holding her hand lost in his own thoughts.

Nicole walked to the opposite side of Jess and looked down at her young friend. She was very relieved to hear that Jess was going to be okay. It felt like a giant weight was lifted off her shoulders. She knew that she never would've forgiven herself if Jess was killed. She knew Jess was counting on her to find her and she had no intention of letting her down. Nicole continued to look at Jess lying in the hospital bed. She reached down, and brushed Jess' hair aside off her face. Then she sat down in the chair and held Jess' hand.

Antonio stood at the foot of Jess' bed. He watched Jess, and wondered what it must've felt like for her to go through what she did. He was very happy to hear that she was okay. He was very protective of Jess her like a big brother is to a little sister. He glanced at Colin and Nicole, and his eyes lingered a bit on Nicole. He knew how much Colin and Nicole cared for Jess. Jess was special to all of them in separate ways.

While they all were preoccupied with their thoughts, a nurse walked into the room informing them it was time to leave, per the doctor's orders. She informed them they could return in a couple hours after the doctors examined Jess to make sure she was okay. They all slowly left the hospital headed to their apartments to change and such. They still had the same clothes on from the previous night with random spots of Jess' blood on them. Shedding these clothes would be one step for them towards putting the horrible events of the night behind them.


	11. Chapter 11

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 11

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

A few hours later, Colin arrived back at the hospital. He'd shaved, showered, and changed before heading back. He stopped briefly at the nurses' station gaining confirmation to see Jess. He walked in the room and resumed the seat he held only a few hours earlier. He picked up her hand once again and held it. He felt a little twinge of guilt for leaving her earlier. He felt he should've stayed, yet, at the same time he didn't want Jess to see him looking like he'd been in a car accident.

"Hey, babe." Colin said to Jess. "You gave us all quite a scare. Especially me. I'd never been so afraid of losing someone before. The doctor said you're going to be okay. I was incredibly happy to hear that. Now, I'm just waiting for you to wake up from your sleep. There's so much I want to tell you. I want you to know how much you mean to me. I always knew you were special; are special. From the first moment we met, I knew I wanted to get to know you better. Ever since that day, my life has been perfect. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't make it, and I'm happy that you're still alive. Jess, I hope you can hear me. I want you to know how much you mean to me. I want you to know how much I care about you. I love you so much, Jess." Colin kissed Jess' hand.

"I love you too, Colin." Jess spoke softly because of her lack of energy. At some point while Colin was speaking, Jess woke up. She heard enough of what he said to know how much he loved her. She felt the same way.

Colin looked up at Jess and noticed that her eyes were opened. He barely heard her statement, but he knew what she said. He smiled and stood up to kiss her forehead. He'd hoped she heard him and he was happy she did. "I mean that Jess, I really do love you."

"So do I, Colin. I love you too."

Colin just stayed there holding her hand. For the moment, no other words were needed. He just sat there holding her hand even after she had drifted back to sleep.

Nicole arrived a little while after Colin did. She was in a hurry to get back to Jess' room. Before she got there, she ran into Antonio in the hallway headed to Jess' room also.

"Hey, Antonio."

"Hey, Nick."

"You're just getting here?"

"Yeah, I called Pollack on the way over and told him Jess was going to be alright. He said he'd make his way over here when Jess' mother and brother get here. Their plane lands in about an hour." Antonio said.

"Good." Nicole answered.

They walked together in silence for a while. A few doors away from Jess' room, Antonio spoke up, "Nick, wait."

Nicole stopped and turned towards Antonio. "What?"

"Well, we've all been through quite an ordeal over the past 48 hours. Right now, I need to tell you that when Jess was kidnapped, the thought ran through my mind that it could've been you. Seeing Jess going through all of this made me realize that I don't want another day to go by without you knowing exactly how much you mean to me. Nick, I love you so much. It's hard to just be your friend, but it's also hard being with you when you never allow anyone to get too close to you. But no matter what our relationship is like, know that I love you and I always will."

Nicole just looked at Antonio. She listened to every word he said. She knew she felt exactly the same way, but it was hard for her. There were some things she was going through and there were things she'd been through that turned her into the woman she was. It was hard for her to let go and show anyone that she was anything less than the hardcore, strong-willed, take-no-prisoners person she personified. Yet, she knew that Antonio and Jess knew there was more to her than that.

Antonio waited a few seconds for a response. When Nicole didn't say anything, he headed towards Jess' room.

Nicole knew she'd been silent too long when Antonio turned to leave. She knew it was now or never. "Antonio, wait." She quickly closed the distance between them and kissed him. Antonio was surprised, but didn't resist. When they broke away from the kiss, Nicole said, "I love you, too, Antonio. I feel the same way you do, but sometimes it's hard for me to express myself. It doesn't change my feelings towards you, though."

"Nick, I'm not asking you to completely change who you are." Antonio chimed in. "I just want you to stop shutting me out. I'm not going to think any less of you no matter what you do. I will never see you as weak."

"I know." Nicole responded. "Antonio, I can't make you any promises, but I'll try."

"I'll help. I love you, Nicole."

"I love you, Antonio."

Nicole and Antonio shared another kiss before heading to Jess' room to see if she had awoken yet.

When Nicole and Antonio walked into Jess' room, she was sitting a little higher on the bed without actually sitting completely up talking to Colin.

"Jess, you're awake." Nicole said ecstatically almost screaming. Nicole ran over to Jess and hugged her.

Jess winced a little from the pain.

"Oh, Jess. I'm sorry." Nicole said apologetically.

"No, it's okay." Jess said trying to smile.

"How long have you been awake?" Antonio asked.

"About five minutes. She's been up a few times for a few minutes at a time." Colin answered.

"Does the doctor know she's awake?"

"I don't know. The nurse does, though. She went to get him."

Just as he said that Dr. Bryce walked in. "Okay everyone, I need to check Ms. Mastriani again. Could you all please step outside? It'll only take a minute."

"Sure." Colin said as he stood and kissed Jess' forehead.

They all walked out of the room to allow the doctor to check Jess. After a few minutes, Colin said, "I'm going to head down to the gift shop. Hopefully, it's open."

"I'll come with you, Colin." Antonio said.

"Cool." Colin replied as they walked down the hall.

About five minutes after they left, Dr. Bryce walked out of the room.

"How is she?"

"Oh, she's just fine. She's on her way to a speedy recovery. Just a few more nights in the hospital for observation and she'll be ready to be released."

"Thanks for all your help, Dr. Bryce." Nicole said shaking Dr. Bryce's hand.

"No thanks are necessary." Dr. Bryce said and walked away.

Nicole walked to the door, poked her head in, and knocked. "Hey."

Jess looked up and said, "Hey, Nick, come on in."

Nicole could tell by the way Jess talked that she had low energy. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm happy to be alive." Jess responded showing a faint smile.

"We're all happy you're alive. Your mom and brother are on their way. Their plane should be landing any minute now."

"Oh, who called them?"

"Pollack did. He's going to pick them up from the airport and bring them to the hospital."

"Remind me to thank him." Jess said. Nicole just nodded. Jess continued, "How's Katie?"

"She's safe. We got her back to her family."

"That's great." Jess said. "And Druis?"

"Dead." Nicole replied. There was a short silence. Nicole just looked at Jess for a moment. "Jess, I'm really happy you're okay." She said as she went to hug Jess more cautiously than before. When the hug was over, Nicole sat in the chair beside Jess saying nothing. Jess could tell that something was on her mind.

"Nicole, are you okay?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…" Nicole stopped. "Nevermind."

"Nick, what is it? Do you have something to say?"

"Well, I came in the room when Druis shot you." Nicole revealed to Jess. Jess didn't really know what to say. "I didn't know what to do." Nicole continued. "I reacted and shot him; killing him. The whole thing seemed unreal. When I rushed over to you and saw you lying there bleeding, I was scared. My mind flashed back a year ago to our case with Jared Hart when you were shot. Thankfully, you were wearing a bulletproof vest."

"Two, remember?" Jess interrupted at an attempt for humor.

"Yeah, two." Nicole said with a light chuckle. "I prayed that you'd been wearing a vest last night too. I keep thinking to myself 'What if I'd found you sooner?' Maybe I could've stopped it from happening."

Jess looked at Nicole. "It's not your fault, Nick. Besides, I'm fine."

"Jess, you're the best partner I've ever had. You're the best friend I've ever known. I don't know what I'd do without you. You're like a sister to me, Jess. I love you."

"I love you too, Nick."

Nicole and Jess hugged again, and Colin and Antonio walked back in the room.

"Aww, it's such a Kodak moment." Colin said with a smile. Jess, Nicole, and Antonio couldn't help but laugh. "These are for you." Colin said as he handed Jess a teddy bear and placed flowers and balloons on her table.

"Thank you. They're beautiful." Jess replied.

"No even one-third as beautiful as you." Colin said with a smile and kissed her.

Nicole and Antonio just smiled. They all sat around talking for a while. They were interrupted when Pollack, Toni, and Doug walked into the room. Pollack asked Jess how she was and they all talked for a few. Jess introduced her mom and brother to Colin. After a few more moments, Nicole, Antonio, and Pollack left so Jess could be alone with her family. Colin left shortly after so Jess could spend time with Toni and Doug.


	12. Chapter 12

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 12

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Jess was in the hospital for about four days. Dr. Bryce wanted to make sure she was going to make a good recovery. Jess stayed at her apartment while she was recuperating. Toni and Doug stayed with Jess for the first week of her recovery at home to help her out. Afterwards, Colin, Nicole, and Antonio constantly made trips to her apartment to check on her. Pollack even dropped by her apartment to see how she was doing on occasion. She enjoyed her time away from work, but she was ready to return. She still had a long way to go before she would be back to 100.

About five months later, Jess, Colin, Nicole, and Antonio were having dinner together. They'd sometimes go on double dates, but this time it was almost a celebration because Jess was returning to work the next day.

"So, Jess, are you ready to come back to work?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am, but somehow it seems like I never left." Jess answered. She'd not been at work for the past six months. Actually, she was not an active agent for that time. She'd been placed on leave while she recovered from her injuries. She spent most of the time in therapy trying to regain complete control of her left arm, and trying to regain her endurance, lung capacity, and everything else that was diminished. The rest of the time she spent unofficially helping Nicole, Antonio, and Pollack with cases. Her body may not have been at its best, but her visions never stopped working. It made her feel better during her recovery to know that she could still help people.

"I bet it doesn't." Nicole said smiling knowing the same thing Jess was thinking. Nicole was glad Jess was coming back to work. A lot of times, Pollack let her go out for a case alone or with Antonio, but most of the time she was working with a temporarily assigned agent. She and the agent didn't get along well at work, and even worse off the job. Nicole's temporary partner was strictly by the books and didn't bend at all the entire four months they were partners in the field. Nicole missed Jess being her partner out in the field, and she was real happy when the Bureau cleared Jess so she could return to full duty. "I miss you out there in the field with me, Jess. I'm glad you're coming back."

"Thanks Nick. I miss being in the field too." Jess said with a smile.

"And you worked hard to return back to work." Colin added. "I think this calls for a toast." Colin said as they all raised their glasses. "To Jess. The most beautiful and intelligent woman I've ever known."

"To Jess." Nicole and Antonio added as they clinked their glasses together.

Nicole looked over at Antonio and smiled. They'd been through some hurdles since getting back together after the Druis case. She loved Antonio very much and she knew he loved her. He showed that by sticking by her. They had to work hard to keep their relationship. Nicole was happy that they were finally getting into a more comfortable point in their relationship. They talked, listened to each other, and worked out their problems. Nicole smiled when Antonio noticed she was watching him and smiled at her. 'I love this man so much.' Nicole thought to herself before turning her attention back to the table as the waiter appeared.

"Desert's here." Colin said when the waiter reached the table with a cart. The waiter placed the deserts on the table, and they all started eating their delectable delights.

The rest of the night, Jess sat at the table thinking about how lucky she was. About four years ago, she was just a regular college student in Indiana. Now, she was an FBI Special Agent working with the best Missing Persons Team in the Bureau. She'd been through a lot in the past four years, and she survived it. She survived with the help of some wonderful people. Jess thought about her first year working with the FBI and Brooke, Sunny, and Alan. She missed them all, but she knew they were doing well and were very successful. Then she thought about the past two years working with Nicole, Antonio, and Pollack and meeting Colin. She looked over at Colin, her wonderful boyfriend, and then across the table at Nicole, her partner and best friend, and Antonio, her adopted big brother. She smiled thinking about how important they had become to her. She thought about Pollack too and how he was like a father figure to her. She couldn't believe how different her life had become. She felt proud and content with the way her life was and the wonderful people who were a part of her life.

The next day, Jess got out of her Jeep Liberty in the FBI parking garage and was very excited about returning to work. She rode the elevator up to her floor, and stepped off feeling content because her life was great. Jess spun around when she heard a familiar voice.

"Mastriani, welcome back." Pollack said.

"Thank you, sir." Jess replied.

"Are you ready to get back in the mix, Little Miss Indiana?" Pollack said.

"Yes, sir. I'm happy to be back." Jess said as Pollack walked off. Jess smiled and headed towards her desk.

"Hey, Jess." Nicole said with a smile as Jess reached her desk.

"Hey, Nick." Jess said returning the smile. Jess sat down at her desk trying to settle back in.

"Hey, Jess." Antonio said walking into the room.

"Hey, Antonio." Jess replied.

As Jess, Nicole, and Antonio were reminiscing about the previous night and just talking in general, Pollack walked into the room. "I hope the 'welcome backs' are out of the way because it's time to get back to it. My children, follow me, we have a missing boy." Pollack said then turned and headed towards the bullpen.

Nicole and Jess looked at each other and smiled.

"You really missed that?" Nicole asked jokingly.

"More than you know." Jess joked back.

With that, Jess, Nicole, and Antonio followed Pollack into the bullpen to do what they did best.

_**THE END**_


	13. Chapter 12 Alternate Ending

Reversal of Fortune

Chp. 12B

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended. The Missing characters do not belong to me. I don't own them. At all.

Jess was in the hospital for about four days. Dr. Bryce wanted to make sure she was going to make a good recovery. Jess stayed at her apartment while she was recuperating. Toni and Doug stayed with Jess for the first week of her recovery at home to help her out. Afterwards, Colin, Nicole, and Antonio constantly made trips to her apartment to check on her. Pollack even dropped by her apartment to see how she was doing on occasion. She enjoyed her time away from work, but she was ready to return. She still had a long way to go before she would be back to 100.

About five months later, Jess, Colin, Nicole, and Antonio were having dinner together. They'd sometimes go on double dates, but this time it was almost a celebration because Jess was returning to work the next day.

"So, Jess, are you ready to come back to work?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am, but somehow it seems like I never left." Jess answered. She'd not been at work for the past six months. Actually, she was not an active agent for that time. She'd been placed on leave while she recovered from her injuries. She spent most of the time in therapy trying to regain complete control of her left arm, and trying to regain her endurance, lung capacity, and everything else that was diminished. The rest of the time she spent unofficially helping Nicole, Antonio, and Pollack with cases. Her body may not have been at its best, but her visions never stopped working. It made her feel better during her recovery to know that she could still help people.

"I bet it doesn't." Nicole said smiling knowing the same thing Jess was thinking. Nicole was glad Jess was coming back to work. A lot of times, Pollack let her go out for a case alone or with Antonio, but most of the time she was working with a temporarily assigned agent. She and the agent didn't get along well at work, and even worse off the job. Nicole's temporary partner was strictly by the books and didn't bend at all the entire four months they were partners in the field. Nicole missed Jess being her partner out in the field, and she was real happy when the Bureau cleared Jess so she could return to full duty. "I miss you out there in the field with me, Jess. I'm glad you're coming back."

"Thanks Nick. I miss being in the field too." Jess said with a smile.

"And you worked hard to return back to work." Colin added. "I think this calls for a toast." Colin said as they all raised their glasses. "To Jess. The most beautiful and intelligent woman I've ever known."

"To Jess." Nicole and Antonio added as they clinked their glasses together.

Nicole looked over at Antonio and smiled. They'd been through some hurdles since getting back together after the Druis case. She loved Antonio very much and she knew he loved her. He showed that by sticking by her. They had to work hard to keep their relationship. Nicole was happy that they were finally getting into a more comfortable point in their relationship. They talked, listened to each other, and worked out their problems. Nicole smiled when Antonio noticed she was watching him and smiled at her. 'I love this man so much.' Nicole thought to herself before turning her attention back to the table.

"Desert's here." Colin said seeming a little too excited. He looked across the table at Nicole and winked. Nicole just smiled and nodded in return. She knew why Colin seemed anxious and excited about desert.

Once the waiter put the deserts in front of them, Jess noticed something out of the ordinary. She'd ordered a simple slice of chocolate cake with a dash of whipped cream. For a moment, she thought she saw something sparkle on her cake. Jess picked up her fork and started pushing the whipped cream to the side being oblivious to the fact that Nicole, Antonio, and especially Colin were watching her intently. Jess gasped and stared in surprise at what she saw sitting in her cake.

Colin reached over and picked up the three diamond studded 5 carat engagement ring. He wiped off the traces of whipped cream, stood up, and walked around to the other side of Jess. His heart was beating fast as he knelt down in front of her. "Jess, you mean the world to me. I had no idea when I met you a year ago that you would become such an important part of my life. This past year with you has been the best year of my life. I love you more than I thought I could ever love someone. I don't ever want this feeling to end. Jess, will you marry me and make me the happiest and luckiest man in the world?" Colin held up the ring to Jess.

Jess was still in shock. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. She agreed with Colin that their past year together was great. She knew she didn't want it to end either. "I love you too, Colin. Yes, I'll marry you." Jess said as a tear of joy ran down her cheek. Colin smiled greatly and slid the ring onto her finger. He jumped up, picked her up out of her seat, and spun her around. The entire restaurant started applauding as Colin leaned down and kissed Jess, but neither Jess nor Colin seemed to notice or care.

Antonio and Nicole looked at each other and smiled. Antonio hugged Nicole and said, "I love you, Nick."

"I love you, Antonio." Nicole replied and kissed him.

Then, they both turned their attention back to Colin and Jess. Jess and Colin had just returned to their seats.

"Congratulations." Nicole said excitedly and went over to hug Jess.

"Yeah, congratulations." Antonio said as he shook Colin's hand. "You got a great woman there, Colin."

"Don't I know it." Colin replied looking adoringly at Jess.

Once Nicole returned to her seat, they all continued celebrating. This time they had much more to celebrate.

The rest of the night, Jess couldn't help but stare at her ring. It was gorgeous. Jess sat at the table thinking about how lucky she was. About four years ago, she was just a regular college student in Indiana. Now, she was an FBI Special Agent working with the best Missing Persons Team in the Bureau. She looked over at Colin, her wonderful fiancé, and then across the table at Nicole, her partner and best friend, and Antonio, her adopted big brother. She smiled thinking about how important Nicole, Colin, and Antonio had become to her. She thought about Pollack too and how he was like a father figure to her. She couldn't believe how different her life had become. She felt proud and content with the way her life was and the wonderful people who were a part of her life.

The next day, Jess got out of her Jeep Liberty in the FBI parking garage still feeling the excitement from the previous night. She rode the elevator up to her floor, and stepped off feeling content. Her life was great, and she was happy to be back at work. Jess spun around when she heard a familiar voice.

"Mastriani, I hear congratulations are in order." Pollack said.

"Well, thank you sir, but…"

"How did I know?" Pollack said finishing her sentence. "I have my ways, agent. Congratulations." Pollack said again as he walked off. Jess smiled and headed towards her desk.

"Hey, Jess." Nicole said as Jess reached her desk. "Or should I say future Mrs. Colin McNeil." Nicole quipped with a smile.

"Hey, Nick." Jess said returning the smile. Jess sat down at her desk trying to settle back in.

"Hey, Jess." Antonio said walking into the room.

"Hey, Antonio." Jess replied.

As Jess, Nicole, and Antonio were talking and reminiscing about the previous night, Pollack walked into the room. "I hope the 'welcome backs' are out of the way because it's time to get back to it. My children, follow me, we have a missing boy." Pollack said then turned and headed towards the bullpen.

Nicole and Jess looked at each other and smiled.

"You really missed that?" Nicole asked jokingly.

"More than you know." Jess joked back.

With that, Jess, Nicole, and Antonio followed Pollack into the bullpen to do what they did best.

_**THE END**_


End file.
